Oliver Wynne Hughes

Fascinating and historically useful story of the Society, whose early members included Clough Williams-Ellis, founder of Portmeirion, along with poets, sculptors and academics from the area round this famous small town. The menus are an insight into 'fine dining' in Snowdonia of the 1960s - on 14 November 1967 a five course menu offered three starters, three seconds (devilled kidneys or eggs en cocotte for those who didn't fancy the sole veronique) and three mains, washed down with a choice of Nuits St Georges, St Julien, Pouilly Fuisse or Chablis - and all for thirty shillings (£1.50 today). Unsurprisingly, there was 'some concern . . that dinners took too long, leaving little time for the speaker and discussion'.… (more)

This is a collection of vignettes and photos of the author's mother and her two sisters, and their childhood years growing up in Harlech, Wales. Rather than a chronological story, the author clusters the anecdotes by subject -- schooldays, the beach, golf, the English in Harlech, life in service, etc. He ends the book with short biographies of the boys from the village who served in WWI.

During the Edwardian period, Harlech was a popular vacation spot with some upper class English families, including Robert Graves and Denys Finch-Hatton (of Out of Africa and West with the Night fame). They were drawn to the village by the beach and Royal St David's Golf Club. I found the contrast between their lives and the lives of the poor townspeople to be most interesting.

I think this book is an important piece of documentation of an era, and recommend it to anyone interested in social history.… (more)